Nitrogen status of functionally different forage species explains resistance to severe drought and post-drought overcompensation

Forage species of intensively managed temperate grassland differ substantially in their drought responses. We investigated whether differences in resistance and resilience, based on biomass yield, are related to species nitrogen (N) acquisition and drought-induced N deficiency. A three-factorial field experiment was established with monocultures of four species (first factor) that differed in functional traits regarding N acquisition and rooting...